Jan. 5 (Asia Today) -- A South Korean North Korean human rights coalition said Monday it has petitioned Ukrainian authorities to protect two detained North Korean soldiers and refrain from including them in any prisoner exchange with Russia.
The Association of Civil Society Organizations for North Korean Human Rights said its affiliated Emergency Committee for the Free Repatriation of North Korean Soldiers submitted the petition Saturday with the Ukrainian nongovernmental International Human Rights Protection Committee to Ukraine's War Prisoner Treatment Coordination Headquarters.
The petition seeks official registration for protection of the two prisoners and the start of international protection procedures, citing concerns they could face severe punishment if returned to North Korea via Russia after expressing a desire to go to South Korea.
The group asked Ukrainian authorities to apply the non-refoulement principle under international humanitarian law and international human rights law. It also requested guaranteed lawyer visits and legal assistance under the Third Geneva Convention and urged immediate steps through the International Committee of the Red Cross and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
